Reviews

Cosmos (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 14, 2019

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: Arjun Singh Panam, blog, Cosmos, Cosmos 2019, Elliander Pictures, Elliot Weaver, film website, filmmaking, films, Joshua Ford, love films, movie review, movies, story, Tom England, Zander Weaver, zero budget movie. Leave a comment

Three astronomers intercept what they believe to be a signal from a distant alien civilization, but the truth is even more incredible than any of them could have imagined – COSMOS is one of those rare breed of movies that I knew very little about, I had not even seen a trailer, poster or movie still for this movie so to say I was blown away was putting it mildly – the film is fascinating as the main bulk of Cosmos is set mainly inside a car and some creepy woods that surround the area, with this in mind the three actors (Tom England, Arjun Singh Panam & Joshua Ford) do an immense job in keeping you invested in the movies story line as the atmosphere slowly builds to a frenetic crescendo – the friendship between Roy & Harry and their backstory was well written and integral to their overall story arc and a few of my favorite bits in the movie included the Jaws like sing-along moment, Mike falling asleep and then waking up to find the car empty and those moments when the guys are out in the woods attempting to triangulate the signal (genuine edge of the bloody seat moment) – Elliot & Zander Weaver have crafted a tense and incredibly entertaining movie that captivates you from minute one – the film’s score is dramatic and quite sublime, the writing is top notch and it’s cast are pure quality – I can’t think of a better Indie Movie this year so if you get the chance watch COSMOS it’s brilliant ★★★★½

FORGET about TERMINATOR Rise of the Machines, Salvation and Genisys these metal imposters are incredibly average when you compare them to Tim Miller’s latest chapter in the Terminator Franchise – DARK FATE starts with the pace of a freight train, the action pieces are quite brilliant and the eye popping special effects should be x-rated THEY ARE AWESOME !! I loved the way both Grace and Rev-9 are introduced, in typical Terminator fashion there are great flashes of light but also in the case of Rev-9 we get to see a frozen snap of items surrounding the robots entrance this is quite beautiful momentarily until it they all shatter, the camera work on these scenes especially the Rev-9s introduction is superb.

What’s apparent from the films start to it’s explosive finale is Tim Miller’s admiration for James Cameron and his 1984 Terminator and it’s sequel Judgement Day – if your a fan of both movies then DARK FATE will take you on a subtle walk down memory lane with old and new character interaction and moments that are obvious homages to these two great pieces of science fiction – It’s also a masterstroke bringing back Linda Hamilton, her iconic role of Sarah Connor IS BACK and boy she looks in incredible shape, her physical appearance is truly impressive and it’s great to see her and Arnold Schwarzenegger sharing some screen time again.

If your a fan of both James Cameron movies then TERMINATOR: DARK FATE will be a hugely enjoyable ride – I loved watching Hamilton, Davis and Reyes kicking some metal ass and as for Gabriel Luna’s super scary Rev-9 HOLY SHIT he may have just surpassed the T-1000 as the franchises second best villain after of course Arnie’s Terminator – Tim Miller deserves all the plaudits for re-igniting this much loved franchise, his ability to direct action with a certain amount of humor and cannon fueled intensity is once again present on the big screen, I for one can’t wait to buy another ticket ★★★★

Joker (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 11, 2019

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: Batman, blog, DC comics, film review, film thoughts, films, gotham, Joaquin Phoenix, joker, joker 2019, joker photo, like, love, madness, movies, photo, scary, the joker, todd phillips. Leave a comment

I have never seen Misery, Relief & Hatred captured so magnificently than in Todd Phillips JOKER – Over the years I have been lucky enough to watch every movie JOKER on the big screen and they have all been good for different reasons YET in my opinion they are all pale imitation’s of the DC character when you compare them to Joaquin Phoenix’s take on the madman of Gotham – the intensity that Phoenix brings to the role is immense, it’s a whirlwind of crazy, one that is quite terrifying to watch – The film has so many evocative scenes and it’s also possibly the best movies I can remember with night time scenes, all beautifully shot by cinematographer Lawrence Sher who also did great work on Phillips 2016 movie War Dogs – My Opinion: This is no ordinary comic book movie it’s essentially a character study, a thought provoking piece on how one of the great comic book villains came to be, it touches on mental health issues, bullying and is very dark and incredibly moving – it’s well worth putting on your happy face and visiting your local cinema NOW ★★★★★

Bliss (2019) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 5, 2019

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: bliss, bliss movie, cinema, dora madison, dugs, films, joe begos, like, love, love movies, mike testin, movies. Leave a comment

blissmovie1

Just caught up with BLISS from director Joe Begos (and my first thoughts are WOW just WOW !! It’s quite simply brilliant, a drug fuelled hallucinogenic nightmare that turns half way through into a bonkers blood crazed vampire movie – The movie starts very slowly so stick with as the film’s second half will blow you away – Mike Testin’s work behind the camera is gorgeous, the films color and drug sequences are wild and Dora Madison is crazy and I mean crazy good !! ★★★★½

Alita Battle Angel (2019) Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on February 7, 2019

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: alita, alita battle angel, alita battle angel movie, cgi, cinema, Ed Skrein, film geek, films, fucking awesome, gumn, imax, james cameron, Jennifer Connelly, Keean Johnson, manga, manga comics, motion capture, motorball, movies, robert rodriguez, Rosa Salazar, scifi nerd, zapan. Leave a comment

WOW !! It’s not very often that I’m completely and utterley SPEECHLESS but for 2 breathtaking hours I was transfixed to the IMAX screen where filmmaker’s Rodriguez & Cameron transported me deep into their dangerous & wonderfully exciting world full of a war torn darkness, futuristic games such as Motorball and all sorts of badass characters that are trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic world – ALITA BATTLE ANGEL is as IMMERSIVE ASTONISHING and AWESOME as scifi movies get and if your a movie fan and love this genre then I aplaud you to GET yourself and all your friends to your local cinema, find the BIGGEST and BADDEST screen, pay the extra dollar for 3D and you will have the movie time of your life – a few hours of past since I watched the movie and I’m still gushing like a child in a candy shop and can’t wait for a rewatch – a big shout out to the incredible age-less & totally kick ass actress Jennifer Connelly and I thought Rosa Salazar’s motion capture was magnificent, loved Ed Skrein’s epic turn as bounty hunter Zapan and Keean Johnson was great as Alita’s human boyfriend – Overall if I had one critisism it would be that I just didn’t want it to end ★★★★★

Aquaman (2018) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on December 13, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: 3D, Amber Heard, aquaman, aquaman movie, atlantis, australia, beautiful, black manta, comicbook, comics, fan of the movies, film blog, film night, hollywood, imax, imax movie, insane, james wan, Jason Momoa, love films, mera, movie thoughts, nicole kidman, ocean master, orm, Patrick Wilson, queen of atlantis, underwater, yahya abdul. Leave a comment

Having raved these last few years to anyone and everyone over James Wan and his ability to scare one half to death with his sublime horror movies The Conjuring, Insidious and Saw it’s actually quite satisfying to see him take on a huge comicbook adapation and completely and utterly destroy it – So I’ve just come out of AQUAMAN on Imax 3D and the first thing I have to say is what an incredible ride the movie is, it’s 143mins of mouth watering, adrenaline fueled action that’s looks totally insane on the big screen – If you take splashes of Pirates of the Caribbean, little drops of Phantom Menace and a tidle wave of Raiders of the Lost Ark then you get a comicbook adaption unlike anything you will have ever seen. I really dug the casting too from Amber Heard’s kickass warrior Mera who has an absolute ball alongside Jason Momoa’s hero, Nicole Kidman is great in everything and her role as the Queen of Atlantis was sublime, Patrick Wilson reuniting once more with Wan for a villanous turn as Orm the half-brother of Aquaman and I really enjoyed watching Yahya Abdul get his teeth into the role of Black Manta and boy doesn’t he do a great job. It never ceases to amaze me what they can produce in movies these days and James Wan’s Aquaman has so many WOW HOLY SHIT how on EARTH did they do THAT moments so do yourself a favour and grab a ticket as this movie REQUIRES some serious BIG SCREEN viewing….. ★★★★½

Overlord (2018) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on November 15, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: cinema, d-day, film blog, film night, film poster, fun, germans, Iain De Caestecker, insane, insane action movie, Jovan Adepo, Julius Avery, love films, Mathilde Ollivier, movie blog, overlord movie, overlord review, Pilou Asbaek, war, Wyatt Russell. Leave a comment

OVERLORD : Julius Avery
Wyatt Russell, Jovan Adepo & Mathilde Ollivier

“A small group of soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day” Let me start by thanking Julius Avery and his team for a cinematic treat – the films starts with one hell of a bang, an exciting claustrophobic movie moment with the soldiers on-board a war plane flying into hell fire, bullets flying everywhere, explosions and the views of what’s below giving your a heart a jolt to get you really ready for what’s to come – the first thing I need to mention about Overlord is it’s LOUD I mean Rob Zombie Front Row LOUD and that’s make you feel even more part of the movie, it’s pace relentless the scene in the attic involving Chase played by Iain De Caestecker is quite terrifying and crazy to boot and Chloe’s flame throwing scene is not only one of the film’s best scene’s but it’s cool as f@ck, the effects are jaw-dropping especially those involving Wafner played by the villainous Pilou Asbaek, and there’s one helluva viciously insane finale that will have your pulse racing and your finger nails gnawed to the bone – do yourself a favour and watch this one on the big screen it’s worth every dollar and it will be one of my favourite movies of 2018 for sure ★★★★½

THE GRINCH: Scott Mosier & Yarrow Cheney
Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely

Don’t you just love Christmas? the feeling of love & happiness, the sounds of jingle bells and smell of winter in the air, it’s that time of year that most of us are happy and for me watching Christmas Movies only adds to this special time – well across the world Christmas has come early in the form of Cheney & Mosier’s THE GRINCH a modernised, animated version of Dr Seuss’s 1957 book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Now I knew going in it would take a Chrismas Miracle for this movie to even compete with Ron Howard’s classic and I was right but nevertheless I had a blast – the film is sooooo funny, the animation is beautiful, the writing sharp as a holly branch and the vocal talents of Cumberbatch, Jones and Seely are quite brilliant – I found Danny Elfman’s score magical and even The Grinch’s snowy home on Mount Crumpit had a cool looking update and don’t even get me started on how adorable Fred the Reindeer and Max the Dog come across !! – If you need some cheering up and love the story then take yourself to Whoville for 90mins where I’m pretty sure your face a beam like a child at…….. you got it CHRISTMAS ★★★★

Aterrados (2018) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 20, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: argentina, Ariel Chavarria, aterrados, creepy, creepy movie, Demian Rugna, film, horror, latin america, Maximiliano Ghione, movie blog, movie website, movies, Noberto Gonzalo, paranormal, scary movie, supernatural, terrified. Leave a comment

ATERRADOS aka: TERRIFIED: Demian Rugna
Ariel Chavarria, Maximiliano Ghione & Noberto Gonzalo

“When strange events occur in a neighborhood in Buenos Aires, a doctor specializing in the paranormal, her colleague, and an ex police officer decide to investigate further” It’s a rarity these days with Hollywood remaking, rebooting anything and everything that you come across a slice of original horror that makes your skin crawl, your palms sweat and your heart race so fast you feel like it’s gonna explode – Demian’s camera work, his use of light and the slow lingering photography are just perfect in building the atmosphere, the bathroom scene is one of the most disturbing horror moments in the last few years and the young boy at the dining table is chilling to say the least – so if your a fan of the paranormal or horror in general and are looking for something to creep you out this witching season then take a look at Demian Rugna’s ATERRADOS it’s a quick paced latin america horror movie that will make you jump out of your skin, lock all the doors and check beneath the bed before turning in – Demian Rugna has crafted something special and downright scary right here ★★★★

HALLOWEEN: David Gordon Green
Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak & Virginia Gardner

If you love horror and especially the slasher genre then David Gordon Green’s HALLOWEEN movie is a must watch on the big screen – the film is set 40 years after the John Carpenter’s original 1978 movie and is classed as a sequel to that movie, I know what your thinking “wasn’t there a Halloween II?” and you’d be right but Green and his writing team and it must be said with the blessing of Carpenter himself have decided to take their new movie in this direction – David Gordon Green’s movie sticks to the same formula as it’s predecessor, keeping things simple, uncomplicated and downright SCARY – the filmmaker makes use of Carpenter’s iconic score that always manages to creep me out and if that’s not enough to scare one silly then the sight of Michael Myers prowling the screen will make you quiver in your seat, the violence is brutal at times and not for the squeamish and along with the many homages to the original film it’s the return of Jamie Lee Curtis who once again gives the horror it’s heart-beat, her character Laurie Strode is now older, battle worn waiting for the boogeyman to return to Haddonfield, that Sarah Connor vibe she’s giving off was really something, the writers did well putting some life in Laurie and I felt she looked ready to chew bubblegum and kick some ass (whoops wrong movie) but HELL YEA she was – Horror newbie Andi Matichak is a revelation and maybe a new scream queen in the making, Virginia Gardner gives a terrific turn as Vicky, veteran Will Patton is always great and I just love Judy Greer – Overall if your looking to see the second best film in the Halloween franchise then get your scared ass to the cinema this weekend and watch a treat of horror that will have you shaking in your boots and looking in your closet afterwards…… ★★★★

Apostle (2018) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on October 14, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: apostle 2018, apostle movie, apostle netflic, apostle review, cinema, cult, Dan Stevens, film blog, film geek, films, gareth evans, gareth evans apostle, kidnap, like, love, Lucy Boynton, margam film shoot, margam park, Matt Flannery, Michael Sheen, movie nerd, movie thoughts, movies, the raid, the raid movies. Leave a comment

APOSTLE : Gareth Evans
Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen, Lucy Boynton

Gareth Evans mostly known for his breakneck action movies The Raid and it’s sequel has just released his latest APOSTLE and it’s a horror movie…. here’s the synopsis “In 1905, a drifter on a dangerous mission to rescue his kidnapped sister tangles with a sinister religious cult on an isolated island” – Only a handful of movies have blown my mind this year and Gareth Evans APOSTLE has just become one of them – the film is an exciting cocktail of twisted storytelling alongside a revenge thriller that’s relentless in it’s brutality – Matt Flannery’s cinematography is a joy to behold, his ability to balance the varied location, dark underground shots along with the action scenes is heart-stopping – So if your a fan of the revenge style genre and love your movies with slices of brutality, great narrative and stunning photography then APOSTLE is most definitely the film for you ★★★★½

THE PREDATOR : Shane Black
Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K Brown, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes & Jacob Tremblay

In 1987 John McTiernan and Arnold Schwarzenegger joined forces to deliver one of the films of the decade Predator – the film is not only an effective action movie but it drips with suspense, has likeable characters that you actuals care for and most importantly it’s a well shot, humorous scifi that actually delivers for it’s audience – so when it was announced that Shane Black (Hawkins from the original movie) was actually shooting a new film I was pretty sceptical, but as the cast was announced and a few stills dropped I actual thought ummmmm this could actually work – sadly after just watching the movie on the big screen I can honestly say what a nauseating, unbelievably bad Predator movie Shane Black has given us, it’s so bad that I can’t even remember how half the protagonists met their demise (and that was like 20mins ago) – sadly you can’t dress the movie up with some of the original iconic score and then give us a horrible story including a laughable 11ft Predator and his pack hounds, bad almost comical at times acting and that includes the usually reliable Sterling K Brown who should stay well away from villainous roles as he gives a stinker, some mediocre CGI (and for an $80 million budget there’s no excuse) and a whole bunch of unlikeable throwaway characters – Overall Shane Black’s The Predator is one ugly mother-f@cker of a movie and one that I don’t expect to revisit ★★½

The Nun (2018) – Movie Thoughts

Posted by absolutebadasses on September 10, 2018

Posted in: Movie Reviews, Reviews. Tagged: cinema, conjuring, Corin Hardy, Demián Bichir and Jonas Bloquet, film blog, films, horro fan, horror, horror movies, horror night, movie website, nun, romania, scary movies, Taissa Farmiga, the conjuring, the nun. Leave a comment

THE NUN : Corin Hardy
Taissa Farmiga, Demián Bichir and Jonas Bloquet

I loved 2015’s The Hallow a low budget Irish Horror by Corin Hardy that was both atmospheric and superbly shot and I have recently spoken of my admiration for James Wan and his effective, simply terryfying Conjuring movies so of course when I heard Hardy was taking the reigns for a new movie set in The Conjuring universe I was pulse racing, mouth dribbling excited………… Sadly that excitment ended after recently watching Hardy’s The Nun a film that fails to live up to to the scares of it’s predecessors, no bold, darkly written storyline, almost rushed in the making, a film that felt like a corny version of Hammer House of Horror, that’s not to say the film totally sucked it just needed to be much darker and less predictable – due to it’s small budget there’s no doubt the film will make money at the box office but being a fan of the series and a horror geek in general I was left overall very disappointed ★★★

BLACKkKLANSMAN : Spike Lee
John David Washington, Laura Harrier, Adam Driver, Jasper Pääkkönen

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the best of Spike Lee and to be honest I really thought after that poor Oldboy remake he was on the decline, maybe putting one foot in retirement and joining some of the great filmmakers that now churn out average films for the masses failing to live up to their past glory’s, but after watching his latest in a pretty full cinema I can honestly say with a glint in my eye that Spike Lee is far from over – BlacKkKlansman is not only one of the most powerful movies of the year it’s also in my opinion Spike Lee’s greatest achievment in film with stand out performances from Laura Harrier, John David Washington & Adam Driver, an incredible score that sucks you into 1979 Colorado, some frightening obsenities shouted by Alec Baldwin’s character that sets the overal tone of the movie, some exhilarating camera work by Chayse Irvin and one helluva creepy performance from Jasper Pääkkönen – oh yeah and not forgetting that Corey Hawkins speech his delivery will stand your hair on end WOW – BlacKkKlansman is an unbelievable story, it has more humor than I expected and it’s last 20mins is a punch to the gut – SEE it on the BIG screen you won’t be disappointed ★★★★½

SUMMER OF 84 : François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell
Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer, Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Gruter-Andrew

Didn’t know a great deal about Summer of 84 until I watched it and WOW now I wana watch it again and come on guys get a sequel rolling – Young kids riding bikes, walkie talkies, insane atmospheric soundtrack and nonstop 80’s nostalga dripping from each scene like a personal trip down memory- lane this movie has the lot and is so much fun to watch – I mean what can I say about the kids in the movie apart from HOLY SHIT you guys rock every SINGLE scene, Tiera Skovbye is a fabulous young actresses and as CUTE as a button playing the kids crush Nikki and what about Mad Men’s Rich Sommer isn’t he just perfect as the creepy neighbor – I really did enjoy this movie so much and as for those last 20 minutes… sheeeeet me what a brilliant dark turn it all takes, my finger nails took a battering and now I’m looking a little more closely at those around me – SUPERB MOVIE ★★★★